Coronavirus - Are We Responding or Reacting?

You cant turn on the TV, Radio or walk past a group of people without hearing about the Coronavirus. The 24 hour a day news cycle and social media channels are focused almost exclusively on the growing “pandemic” and its potential spread. Every hour it seems we are hearing of a new school shutting down, a business sending their employees home, or a mass run on retail stores as they run out of toilet paper, sanitizer and bleach. There is no doubt that the spread of the Coronavirus is a major development that we need to deal with, but as HR professionals and business leaders, are we helping or hurting the situation?

It’s incredibly important to take action to reduce or prevent the spread of the virus, however, we need to put this into perspective. The common flu kills approximately 56,000 people every year in the US according to the CDC, yet we approach it with a thoughtful, strategic response and not mass hysteria. I am not minimizing the terrible nature of COVID-19, however, I am wondering what message are we sending to our teams at the office and our kids in their schools? Why does it seem that we have lost all sense of reason? What makes us panic and buyout entire stores in order to stockpile toilet paper and Clorox wipes? What happens when hospitals are overwhelmed with anyone with a cold, and cannot tend to those that really need their help?

What example are setting for our teams and our children when we live in fear, focus only ourselves, and throw rational thought out the door? Unless we get to point where we balance fear with reason, the long term impact of the Coronavirus will go well beyond the physical. The long term impact of supporting panic, isolation, and self-centered behavior will last decades and beyond. In the future when our teams or children react to major challenges with fear and panic and not a thoughtful response, we can't act surprised.

Look, this bug is not nice and has killed fellow human beings just like the flu does each year. It’s a situation that warrants a response that is not shrouded in fear, panic, and self-preservation at the expense of our fellow human beings. We have an opportunity to focus on the facts of what is going on without instilling fear and responding appropriately.

Take a look at your communication with your teams and children, the decisions you make, and the overall message you are sending. Are you fueling the fire of fear? Or are you leading your teams and children through these events with a rational, fact-based strategy that provides realistic protection and teaches them how to navigate the rough waters we are in? What we teach now will stay with them forever.

In the spirit of support, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone stricken by this virus, as well as those that need some reassurance to lower their anxiety and fear. Let's conquer this together and show our teams and children how to respond to situations that are difficult and have uncertainty.

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